Music

Speak To My Heat

"Speak to My Heart",released in 1995, was the first CD on the "Generativity" label. A collection of standards and originals, this CD features 13 artists and 67 minutes of "jazz joy". The quality of the musicianship on this project is a sign of good things to come from Generativity and from Dallas in general. There are four Gilyard originals, including the title track and the always popular, "Always With Me".

The second Gilyard and Generativity release (1996) was "I Tell My Heart". This project features originals by Gilyard, guitarist Robert Aberg, saxophonists Karl Lampman and Keith Loftis, pianist Claude Johnson, all members of the ensemble, and Dallas harpist Cindy Horstmann. "I Tell My Heart" is dedicated to the memory of Dallas jazz legends, pianist/vocalist Shirley McFatter and saxophonist James Clay, who passed away in 1994 and 1995, respectively.

The 1997 CD, "Inspiration" was the first for Russian born pianist Gregory Slavin. Four of the nine songs on the project were composed by Slavin, with James Gilyard adding two more. The artists on this project are Slavin, Gilyard and drummer Andrew Griffith. In addition, violinist Gale Hess is featured on the song "Inspiration #1", playing both violin and viola.

"The Gift" .Released in October, 2000, The Gift is the first CD release for pianist Don Ambrose and his trio. This CD features James Gilyard on bass and Ted Wasser on drums. This CD contains 10 standards and one Gilyard original. Very nice!

"What Will I Tell My Heart?" is the long awaited Generativity debut for Sandra Kaye. Released in July, 2001, the CD features James Gilyard, Arlington Jones, Shelley Carrol, Andrew Griffith and Jorge Ginoiro.

Released in September, 2001, "Following The Dream" is the second CD project for Gregory Slavin and is a collection of 8 outstanding originals. Slavin's supporting cast is James Gilyard, Buddy Mohmed, Ira Bassett, Andrew Griffith and Karl Lampman. Good stuff!

"Love Songs, Ballads and Blues" is the debut album of Dallas singer Simone Jackson-Rodgers. On this project, she is accompanied by James Gilyard, Arlington Jones, Andrew Griffith and Shelley Carrol. This CD is a combination of standards and originals and will leave you anxiously awaiting Simone's next project.

"Ballads" is a collection of 8 originals, composed by James Gilyard and Arlington Jones, and 4 standards. In addition the the composers, featured artists are Shelley Carrol, Andrew Griffith, Simone Jackson-Rodgers and Bill Lohr.

A Celebration of 52 Years of Music Making, Act 3 consists of 9 originals, along with the Donny Hathaway classic, "This Christmas". Seven of the originals were composed by James Gilyard, with one each by Robert Aberg (Full Court Press) and Arlington Jones (Mr G's Swing & Ride.

As the subtitle says, this is "Music for Gentle Souls, Happy Hearts & Dancing Feet". With the exception of the last track, all of the songs are Gilyard originals, again leaving no doubt about his compositional skills. The All-Star cast of musicians will have you humming along and tapping your toes.